An independent garage in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire is successfully managing its busy workflow after recently implementing a new online strategy.

GLR Autocare, established over 26 years ago, was busy all year round but, like most garages, found that MOT bookings were askew following the deferral dates set in lockdown.

Owner, Salvatore Crimaudo, spotted an opportunity to address the problem after reading an article about how garages were successfully targeting specific incoming work enquiries via their websites.

He said: “It just made perfect sense. Even though we’d been doing great without a website, I saw an opportunity to not only manage the work flow we had, but to attract more of the profitable work we wanted.

“We instructed Garage Services Online to design and build us a site with a detailed brief about what type of work we wanted to attract. At the top of the list was servicing. We then took it a step further by offering free MOTs with a service for a limited period.

“The site generated an immediate response to our offer, completely exceeding my expectations. It had only been live for just over a week and we’d booked in eight brand new customers.

“Not only is the website working to get us seen online, it’s actively bringing in more servicing work and as a result, we’re managing the MOT demand at the same time.”

GLR’s site has now been live for 10 weeks and Salvatore says he’s expecting to report a big return on investment by the end of the year.

He concluded: “My previous experience with websites wasn’t good. They took up too much time and the people creating them just didn’t understand the independent aftermarket sector.

“What really drew me to the team at Garage Services Online, was that they only deal with our sector. This was really important to me. I probably spent more time reading their reviews than I actually did on the phone to them during the build.

“The whole thing took less than an hour of my time and with no upfront fees, it was painless! Pretty impressive considering the difference it’s making to a business that was already doing well.”